The Pitch: An adult version of "Alexander's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day"

Unwed couple Sam (Kyle Bornheimer) and Melanie (Erinn Hayes) have a baby on the way. Now they just have to tell Melanie's parents (Kurtwood Smith, Nancy Lenehan), which would be a lot easier if they didn't hate Sam and if Sam didn't keep screwing up the mood in the most elaborate ways possible.

What They Got Right: Bornheimer is a good sport, which is helpful since the amount of humiliation his character undergoes in the pilot is more than any normal person could probably take. Or probably be expected to take. Erinn Hayes has always been a wonderfully funny leading lady in search of a proper vehicle, while Smith and Lenehan are old pros working in familiar territory. The pilot tries awfully hard to make you laugh, pushing its single-camera hijinx to the extreme with a frantic pace.

What's Oh, So Wrong: "Worst Week" is often more exhausting than it is funny. Nothing it does seems effortless and even when the the punchlines land -- and the cast is good enough that they sometimes do -- it still feels a little desperate. How they can they sustain the pace for an entire season? And would viewers even want to watch that much humiliation? And how will a single-camera comedy fit in amongst CBS' more traditional Monday sitcoms?

Recommended If ...: You require a Monday night dose of schadenfreude to get you through the week.

The Pitch: Like "Psych," but hate all the jokes? Watch "The Mentalist."

Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) isn't a psychic, but he used to play one on TV. Using his powers of observation, Jane helps solve crimes with the California Bureau of Investigation. While his unorthodox methods often rub his team (Robin Tunney, Tim Kang, Owain Yeoman, Amanda Righetti) the wrong way, he has a habit of getting the job done.

What They Got Right: CBS has faith that Simon Baker is a star and nothing in "The Guardian" or "Smith" has necessarily proven the network wrong. Certainly if you have to watch one leading man squint for an hour a week -- and that's how pilot director David Nutter conveys the main character's gifts -- Baker's a safe bet. This show is right in CBS' procedural wheelhouse and the supporting cast is solid and proven, plus the guest starring cast in the pilot -- Steven Culp, Gail O'Grady, Jeffrey Nordling, Zeljko Ivanek and Tim Guinee -- is tremendous.

What's Oh, So Wrong: Although Baker goes around with a gleam in his eye, "The Mentalist" is too serious for its own good, almost as if even the hint of humor would reinforce the all-too-obvious "Psych" comparisons. Jane's maverick independence is already grating on the members of his team, who are feeling superfluous. That could either make for a good dynamic, or they'll actually become superfluous. In the pilot, it's much more the latter.

Recommended If ...: You really like those "Spot five things wrong with this picture" puzzles, only with more murder

Divorced dad Gary (Jay Mohr) is embarking on a new relationship with Vanessa (Jamie King), but he still has to deal with his freshly engaged ex-wife (Paula Marshall), who has different ideas about how they should be raising their kids (Laura Marano, Ryan Malgarini).

What They Got Right: With its skewed look at blended contemporary families, "Gary Unmarried" fits in well with its Wednesday night companion "The New Adventures of Old Christine." At times, Mohr, Marshall and King have been funny in other projects.

What's Oh, So Wrong: "Gary Unmarried" is mighty stale, from its familiar punchlines, to its cheap-looking sets, to its over-aggressive laugh-track. Mohr's character plays to none of his comic strengths -- Seriously, get this guy an "Action!"-style dark comedy on a pay cable network -- so he isn't funny. Marshall is unlikable (or, rather, her character is) and the kids are just sitcom kids. The only part of the pilot I thought was funny was Larry Miller as the main couple's marriage counselor, nor engaged to Gary's ex. Naturally, Miller has been recast, replaced by Ed Begley Jr.

Recommended If ...: You can't be with the one you love and you don't particularly love the one you're with

Bella Bloom (Elizabeth Reaser) has a pretty solid like. She's beautiful, successful and she has a great group of friends and loved ones (Rachel Boston, Adam Rothenberg, Alexandra Breckenridge, Amir Talai). But she wants a man. Why can't she find love? The problem, a psychic explains, is that the man she's supposed to married is a guy she's already had a past relationship with. But which one? And can Bella find him before a year is up?

What They Got Right: Early reaction to the "Ex List" pilot has fall along clear like-it/hate-it lines. If you like the show, you think that Reaser is a television star, fulfilling the promise of her Emmy nominated guest stop on "Grey's Anatomy." She's surrounded by an attractive young cast and they spent a lot of time talking about sex, sometimes humorously. If you like the show, you're pleased that Diane Ruggiero ("Veronica Mars") is back to writing clever dialogue for smart, pretty women. You also celebrated the hilarious guest appearance by Eric Balfour in the part he was seemingly born to play.

What's Oh, So Wrong: If you dislike the show, you quickly grew tired of listening to this otherwise perfect woman whining about her lack of male validation and eventually ceased to wonder why she'd had such trouble finding love. You wondered what straight male in his right mind would ever voluntarily watch the show again. And you kind of felt like a show focusing only on Rachel Boston and Eric Balfour might somehow have been superior.

Recommended If ...: You prefer the romantic complaints of beautiful people to your own Friday night social options

Premise: Accompanied by his beautiful blonde bodyguard, a government science advisor travels the country investigating abuses of science and crimes of a scientific nature. The project is based on a British miniseries.

First Impressions: There's the "Dark Knight" teaser with the tagline "Why so serious?" which may apply to "Eleventh Hour" as well. The pilot appears to have taken its cloned babies plotline directly from the British original and director Danny Cannon has given the show his trademark stylized look. Rufus Sewell looks to be a capable and compelling lead, but why did the clips screened for advertisers feature Marc Blucas -- presumably in what is just a one-off guest appearance -- far more than Marley Shelton, the show's second lead? Even if the clips weren't instantly outstanding, this is a slam-dunk in the post-"CSI" slot.

Premise: A group of family and friends head to a secluded ... Show More »

Harper's IslandHorror DramaPremiering: Midseason

Premise: A group of family and friends head to a secluded island off the coast of Seattle for a destination wedding. In addition to being picturesque and romantic, the island is also infamous as the site of a homicidal maniac's killing rampage seven years earlier. When people start turning up dead, that becomes a major concern.

First Impressions: It's "My Big Fat White Horror-Wedding," or "Reunion" meets "Big Day" meets "Friday the 13th." "Harper's Island" looks like the sort of knock-off slasher film that usually gets released in January and makes a lot of money without being screened for critics. But those sagas of cute, thin white folks getting butchered only need to last 90 minutes, while this show will somehow have to sustain 13 episodes. Meanwhile, the original pilot presentation was scrapped and recast, so it's unclear how much of the tone of the clips will remain intact.